


A Questionable Fic

by delphia2000



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-16
Updated: 2009-11-16
Packaged: 2017-10-03 03:41:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delphia2000/pseuds/delphia2000
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tag for the finale of SG-1</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Questionable Fic

They came, as he knew they would, one at time, each in their own time.

Vala was first of course, impatient and curious and swept about by the winds of her own needs as usual, confronting him in the gym. "I can't see how telling me what I did would make any difference, Muscles. I mean, you said it yourself...it doesn't matter because it didn't happen."

"Indeed," Teal'c answered her and continued lifting the weights one-handed.

She tried another tactic, posing coyly with a suggestive grin as her tone became low and sultry. "Think of it as just telling me a fantasy story. And then, perhaps, if you're interested, I can tell you a fantasy. One I have about you. All the time."

He could almost see the pheromones she emitted in her attempt to seduce the information from him. "I would be most honored to fulfill your fantasy," he offered with a slow nod.

The shame on her face showed clearly. "I didn't mean it like that, Teal'c. I was just..."

"Offering to share comfort with a friend?" he suggested. "A friend who, like yourself, has been much abused by the Gou'ald and who understands the body and sex can be a tool or can be a gift, depending on the intent?"

"Something like that. I'm sorry. Truly. I didn't mean...umm...I think I have an appointment or something," she mumbled as she backed away.

Then she fled, but he knew it was not over. She'd try again, just in a different way. He was not insulted. Vala's sexuality was for her, as yet, just another asset to be bartered as necessary. She was still learning about trust and teamwork and about the bond between those who defied death together.

Col. Mitchell was more subtle, but not by much. He sat down next to Teal'c in the cafeteria only a day later. "Do I have anything to apologize for?" he asked without preamble.

"None that I know of, Colonel."

"Come on, Teal'c. You don't have to tell me everything. Just wanted to know...you know...if I went crazy or something. I mean, 50 years cooped up on that ship. Just thinking about it gives me the heebie-jeebies. I must have gone stir crazy."

He paused, looking meaningfully at Teal'c, who could not and would not give him the acknowledgement he sought to punish himself for imagined sins. "What is the first lesson the Sodan taught you?" Teal'c asked gently.

"The first enemy one must defeat is the one that lies within," Mitchell quoted. "I read it as the equivalent of our 'Know thyself,' more or less."

Teal'c nodded, and then returned full attention to the loaded tray in front of him. He surreptitiously watched Mitchell chew over thoughts far more carefully than the man generally chewed his food. Mitchell never asked again.

The General was next. Teal'c invited him into his quarters, offering a chair which the man refused. "I just have one question and if you can't answer it, I will understand. But I have to ask. Did I die well?"

He wasn't sure why he felt obligated to answer this question. Perhaps it was the knowledge that his own mortality was so much closer or perhaps because he could understand a warrior's concerns. Teal'c bowed his head and answered, "With much dignity."

The relief in Landry's eyes was clear. "Then I let me ask another question. Is there anything I can get you, or do for you?"

Teal'c thought for only a moment before making his request. Landry looked perplexed, and then shrugged. "Of course. I'll have it to you by tomorrow."

The case arrived as promised and Teal'c set it carefully away in the closet for when it would be needed.

Daniel was next although he didn't really ask anything. He too, chose to visit Teal'c's quarters, asking if Teal'c would care to meditate with him. In his hands he carefully carried the fat stub of a well-used candle. Teal'c recognized it as what was probably the last remnant of Abydos on Earth, other than the memories of those held dear by his team mates. They lit it together, breathing in the scent of a far-away life, drifting to peaceful places on its smoke until it flickered out, much like Abydos itself. "You are very welcome," Teal'c said as Daniel left, acknowledging unspoken words.

And then it was Sam's turn. Sam, who had waited until she could sort it all out in her head and prepare what she felt she should say, because Sam was not impulsive in matters that deeply concerned her. She asked to speak to him after seeking him out in the infirmary where the doctors were tracking his physical changes, mostly for their own compilation of Jaffa physiology rather than any concern of his own.

They could have commandeered a quiet room to talk there, but he put her off, instead asking if she would see him in his quarters later. She was prompt, still nervously twining her fingers together as she prepared to read from her mental script, but he stopped her before she could speak. "Do not apologize, Samantha. It is not necessary."

"Teal'c," she protested, "I screwed up. I took away 50 years of your life and I can't make it right and I just don't even know where to begin to tell you how sorry I am."

He nodded, having too much respect for her to treat her as a child by patting her on the head and telling her it was not her fault. "Mistakes were made, however, I do not see how they could have been avoided with the knowledge we had at the time. In the end, you found a way to correct your mistake and I made the choice to carry it out. My choice and my gift to my teammates, and it was also my honor to help preserve the Asgard knowledge."

"If my apology would negate in any way your sacrifice, then I won't apologize. But I also won't disallow my guilt. I am guilty and I vow your sacrifice won't be in vain. The knowledge you saved will be put to good use. I promise you that."

"I never had any doubts otherwise, Samantha Carter."

She hugged and kissed him on the cheek and then looked a bit embarrassed, so he guessed she was considering what may or may not have happened in those long years on that lonely ship. "We did not," he told her.

Sam pinked up and looked away because although they'd been intimate in many ways throughout their long association, none of it could have been construed as sexual in any way. "I didn't think so," she murmured.

"I would ask a boon of you," he said to change the topic before she got too flustered.

Her answer was immediate. "Anything."

Going to his closet, he pulled out the case and handed to her, describing in detail what he wished. She looked dubious, but took it and left. After that, he saw how she would leave her lab at more reasonable hours and he knew what she would be doing. It took her a full year before she felt confident enough and then, as he requested, she played the cello in the cafeteria for him, in front of everyone. From her shining eyes, he knew that he'd chosen correctly by requesting she learn 'Ode to Joy' for him. Her encore choice of Elvis' 'Love Me Tender' brought him even greater joy.

By that time, Vala had finally stopped asking.

The end

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a birthday gift to Minxy


End file.
